Several years of scientific preparation, a joint competition for architects and exhibition designers, efforts to win over public and private financial partners, and finally a two-year phase of conversion and fitting preceded the reopening of the East Friesian State Museum in Emden on 6th September 2005. The content and design of the exhibition has been completely reconceived, and it is now presented in extended rooms that relate historical developments in visible layers of time, highlighting the interplay between complexes of regional, art and cultural history. The overall dramaturgy has been conceived to include reference to the present day, scenographic emphases, and media offers. Tidying up and dusting off were among the guiding principles of the new design, which also includes a new entrance area and additional thematic rooms. Ca. 2,650 m2 of exhibition and circulation space are distributed from the ground to the top floors. The armoury occupies a special place in the museum building. It is based on the depot character of an arsenal, but this is translated into modern design; the armour and weaponry are presented quite openly. The objects do not disappear behind the glass of display cases, but remain open to direct encounters. The layout of the new permanent exhibition came about in close cooperation with the architects of the extension building and the restoration of the existing structure, ahrens grabenhorst architekten BDA, Hanover.